Part 1Local Arrangements for Civil Protection
General
12AF1Northern Ireland: provision or disclosure of national security information
1
A Minister of the Crown may, for the purposes mentioned in subsection (2), make regulations addressing the provision or disclosure of national security information.
2
Regulations under this section are to apply for the purposes of any regulations or order made by the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland under this Part; and any regulations or order made by the Department has effect subject to regulations under this section.
3
“National security information” means information the disclosure of which to the public would, or would be likely to, adversely affect national security.
4
Regulations under this section may (in particular)—
a
provide that national security information is not to be provided or disclosed, or is to be provided or disclosed only in specified circumstances or in a specified way, despite any provision of regulations or an order made by the Department of Justice;
b
provide that a certificate signed by a Minister of the Crown certifying that the disclosure of information to the public would, or would be likely to, adversely affect national security is conclusive evidence of that fact;
c
provide that such a certificate may identify the information to which it applies by means of a general description and may be expressed to apply to information within that description that comes into existence after the certificate is made;
d
confer other functions on a Minister of the Crown or any other specified person or body (and a function conferred may, in particular, be a power or duty to exercise a discretion).